Supreme Council

KAŠĖTAITĖ Genovaitė, Vilnius

I was tired after the night of January 12h. I had been at Parliament, and after taking a rest at home, I went back to my usual place at 9 p.m. on January 13th. About two hundred people from the district of Pakruojis arrived on seven buses and joined us. I noticed that my sister's husband Virgis Vyšniauskas had also arrived. There wasn't any time to warm up by the bonfire because around midnight, some older volunteers told us that we had to get ready in our places. Waving tri-colored flags and banners that the people from Pakruojis had brought, we stood there and waited for something terrible to happen. At about 1 a.m. we heard the rumbling of tanks coming along the viaduct from the Northern barracks towards the Parliament. Then a tank appeared in the street. I climbed onto a sand truck and began to count the tanks. They were speeding in, but in a neat line, one after another. I counted only 13 - my throat got dry and my voice became hoarse. Then I began roughly counting in my head. There seemed to be about fifty. They all drove down along the viaduct towards the TV center and disappeared. After some time, I heard a lot of violent shots. It made it seem like they were shooting all over the city, and that a lot of people had already been killed, because they stopped shooting as suddenly as they had started. Then I noticed that the beautiful dark blue sky above Parliament had turned a reddish color. Then I asked Virgis why the sky was so red, without even a patch of another color. Then the radio went dead. When I went to the other side of the building by the main entrance to the Supreme Council, I found out that there was an ambulance by Martynas Mažvydas Library, and they were asking for Rh negative blood. They needed a transfusion right away in the ambulance. Unfor¬tunately, I couldn't help, as my blood type didn't match. I understood that there were victims. I rushed further. I went over to the viaduct and saw a nice car stop on the side of the road. Some frightened foreign journalist got out. When they got closer to me on the stairs, I asked them what was going on. They said: „Strelba, bjut liudej, puskajut gaz!" (.They're shooting, killing people, and using gas!") They rushed to Parliament. Then I heard a loudspeaker. They announced that the RTV Center and the TV tower had been taken, and there were victims. I went over to the people from Pakruojis. They were standing in their places and were waiting for news. I told them everything.

I went back to the viaduct, where young people were holding up a poster: „Soldat, beri sinel, idi damoj!" („Soldier, take your uniform and go home!")

After having fulfilled their „task", two personnel carries loaded with soldiers went back. There were so many of them that it seemed like they were pressed together, and the last row was bending forward so we couldn't see them from the road. Young people whistled at them. I was still waiting for something terrible to happen when they began to speak over the loudspeaker in the square. They had a lot to announce, but I didn't even want to listen. I was really shaken up, and my legs were damp and tired from the wet weather. I stood in a defensive place again. I stayed there until 8:30 in the morning. Tired, I decided to go home. I found neighbors who weren't sleeping, and they surrounded me and asked why neither the TV nor the radio were working. I told them everything and they rushed to the square.

The entire night of January 12th they were announcing that women should leave Parliament, but not one woman left the square. I didn't notice anyone who would have obeyed this command. On the contrary, after that bloody night, crowds of people flooded towards Parliament. It seemed like all of Lithuania had gathered, unafraid of the hand of a murderer.